Books published by Read the Spirit Books

"What is race? How do we define identity? How does education affect our life and relationships? Welcome to Anni K. Reinking's world, where even the smallest occurrence of everyday life raises new questions and reflections, involving sociology, anthropology, religion and psychology," writes Elisa Di Benedetto in the Foreword to Not Just Black and White."This is Anni's emotionally and intellectually moving memoir of her life as a white mother raising a black son in multiracial America-but it is so much more than that. While her story is based in the U.S., this is a global story. This book is an extraordinary journey towards awareness and learning. That's how the world changes for the better-one story at a time that touches us and makes us realize we share far more with our neighbors than might seem to separate us."America is a racially divided nation. All of us are familiar with the headlines in recent years of white Americans anxiously calling police about innocent black Americans they encounter. Among the troubling news stories are incidents sparked by black young people simply napping in a dorm room, shopping for clothing, touring a campus or holding a business meeting in a coffee shop. National reporting shows that black drivers are more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers. In some tragic cases, young African-Americans have been killed in encounters that were fueled by mistaken impressions or outright racism.Reinking has spent years as a researcher, scholar and educator. Her roles as mother and researcher come together in this important new book. She shares her family's life in the hope that these stories will foster learning, discussion and new places for reflection and growth. She is honest even about her own occasional stumbling as a mother through cross-racial experiences in which she discovered how much more she has to learn. In telling those true stories, she invites readers to open up their own lives.Writer Christine Michel Carter, who specializes in working with black families and consumers, encourages readers to embrace Reinking's fresh perspective in this book. "For years I have researched and written for the general public, advocating for equality, uncovering the challenges of black motherhood and revealing the many cultures that reside in our country," Carter writes. "However, Dr. Anni is doing something I cannot: using stories of her own ignorance in hopes that it will push her colleagues outside of their own comfort boundaries and foster within them a place for growth and reflection."Ultimately, for millions of Americans, this is a family story for our time. Anni's father, a longtime Presbyterian minister, encourages all parents and grandparents to enjoy this book, writing, "I think that every grandparent hopes for a better future, not only for their children, but for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren."

"What is race? How do we define identity? How does education affect our life and relationships? Welcome to Anni K. Reinking's world, where even the smallest occurrence of everyday life raises new questions and reflections, involving sociology, anthropology, religion and psychology," writes Elisa Di Benedetto in the Foreword to Not Just Black and White. "This is Anni's emotionally and intellectually moving memoir of her life as a white mother raising a black son in multiracial America-but it is so much more than that. While her story is based in the U.S., this is a global story. This book is an extraordinary journey towards awareness and learning. That's how the world changes for the better-one story at a time that touches us and makes us realize we share far more with our neighbors than might seem to separate us."America is a racially divided nation. All of us are familiar with the headlines in recent years of white Americans anxiously calling police about innocent black Americans they encounter. Among the troubling news stories are incidents sparked by black young people simply napping in a dorm room, shopping for clothing, touring a campus or holding a business meeting in a coffee shop. National reporting shows that black drivers are more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers. In some tragic cases, young African Americans have been killed in encounters that were fueled by mistaken impressions or outright racism.Reinking has spent years as a researcher, scholar and educator. Her roles as mother and researcher come together in this important new book. She shares her family's life in the hope that these stories will foster learning, discussion and new places for reflection and growth. She is honest even about her own occasional stumbling as a mother through cross-racial experiences in which she discovered how much more she has to learn. In telling those true stories, she invites readers to open up their own lives.Writer Christine Michel Carter, who specializes in working with black families and consumers, encourages readers to embrace Reinking's fresh perspective in this book. "For years I have researched and written for the general public, advocating for equality, uncovering the challenges of black motherhood and revealing the many cultures that reside in our country," Carter writes. "However, Dr. Anni is doing something I cannot: using stories of her own ignorance in hopes that it will push her colleagues outside of their own comfort boundaries and foster within them a place for growth and reflection."Ultimately, for millions of Americans, this is a family story for our time. Anni's father, a longtime Presbyterian minister, encourages all parents and grandparents to enjoy this book, writing, "I think that every grandparent hopes for a better future, not only for their children, but for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren."

Clinical psychologist and clergywoman Lucille F. Sider adds her voice to the chorus of women in the #WhyIDidntReport and #MeToo movements. This is Lucille's story of resilience and hope as a survivor of sexual abuse. She explains the challenges of finding her way out of a fear-based spirituality into one that is full of grace, hope and forgiveness. The unique richness of her book is that she wrote it to spark healing discussion. As she describes her experiences in these pages, she also steps back and offers helpful analysis as both a psychologist and a clergywoman. At the end of the book, she includes a complete study guide with questions for reflection for individuals, small groups and classes."The book is arranged to be a valuable tool in the hands of persons in the helping professions, such as clergy, social workers, psychologists," writes the Rev. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita and Ambassador of The Wesleyan Church. "This writing is so powerful, yet gentle, that people will be able to add their own words to combat the pain. Lucille's credentials enhance the power of the story. Truly a book for these days!"Lucille was just 6 years old when she was abused both physically and sexually by a hired man on the family's farm. Lucille's inner conflict about these experiences, propelled her into a childhood of guilt and shame. While Lucille was an outstanding student, singer and athlete, she lived with an underlying fear, loneliness and mild depression. A second sexual abuse by her brother-in-law, when she was just 15 years old, added to Lucille's fears. When she tried to tell her parents about this, their response was only to pray for her-so, she kept these painful events secret for years. Many years later, her brother in law was arrested for molesting a 15-year-old girl. Lucille and others, including his own daughter, testified against him and he was incarcerated. Raised in a conservative household and faith, Lucille went to college and seminary to search for a theology that was full of grace and forgiveness. She found this especially at Yale Divinity School, though she always lived with a mild depression. Her struggle to understand both her faith and psyche led her to earn a PhD from Northwestern University in psychology and religion. She became a clinical psychologist and pastoral counselor and later the Executive Director of The Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Center in Evanston, Illinois.At age 50, when her husband suddenly divorced her, Lucille was cast into darkness and despair which resulted in major depression. Lucille became dysfunctional and had to step down as Executive Director of her counseling center. Years of therapy led her to new ways of offering and sharing her gifts, which included writing stories and ministering to seniors, especially those suffering from dementia. In Light Shines in the Darkness, Lucille F. Sider shares her unique story of sexual abuse and severe mental illness, including depression and PTSD. She describes her legal battle in fighting for justice and her ongoing persistence in finding ways to remain stable. She calls these her mental health and spiritual practices and they include: counseling, medication, meditation, healthy diet, exercise, daily prayer and church attendance. In sharing her story, Lucille now is helping others along their journeys from sexual abuse to stability-to find their own hope and their own light that shines through the darkness.

If you read one book this year about the future of Christianity, then choose this book. Five hundred years ago the Protestant Reformation claimed the Bible as the authoritative guide for Christian living ("Sola Scriptura!" Only Scripture!). In this groundbreaking work, Emily Swan and Ken Wilson claim the authority of the church is shifting back to where it should be: in Jesus (Solus Jesus!). As co-founders of Blue Ocean Faith, Swan and Wilson are pioneering what it means to be post-evangelical-post-Protestant, even-in a time when such re-imagining is desperately needed.Solus Jesus not only grapples with the authority question in Christianity, but also provides a massive re-think of traditional atonement theories. Leaning on the work of René Girard, they conclude that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus together reveal a completely good, non-violent God who is on the side of the oppressed and scapegoated of this world. As a work of queer theology, the book is intersectional in its understanding of justice, and invites readers to reconsider our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.This book is timely, to say the least. For Christians looking for guidance on how to address distressing issues of injustice; for help understanding how they can faithfully follow Jesus and love their neighbors as themselves; and for practices for how to experience the living Jesus and his Spirit of love-Solus Jesus is the book for you."Born in a cauldron of faith and pain, Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance is a highly original, deeply provocative first stab at a post-evangelical, post-'gay debate' pastoral theology," writes David P. Gushee, author of Changing Our Mind and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. "Drawing from personal experience and those who have long carved out theologies far from power, Swan and Wilson show how Solus Jesus can open a portal to the divine communion that is possible between all people," writes Deborah Jian Lee, author of Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women and Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelicalism."Ken and Emily's book is loving and courageous, compelling and convicting, scholarly and personal all at once. … This book held up a mirror to my heart, asking me to forsake my anxious need for certainty, to repent of all the rivalries that cripple me, and to rest again like a child, at the breast of a God in whose fierce and fearless love there is home for us all," writes the Rev. Susan K. Bock of Grace Episcopal Church in Mount Clemens, Michigan."Solus Jesus challenges us to see the authoritative Jesus in a fresh light, so that his life, message, death, and rising summon us to live in a new way as individuals and congregations," writes Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration."Around the world, tension and conflict are signaling a shift in our socio-political conditions. To remain relevant, Christianity must have a response to this moment. Grounding themselves in their lived experience, Ken and Emily are leaning into the conversation and offering a powerful response to the travails of our time. A must-read for Christians looking to discern where the Spirit is leading us in the 21st Century," writes Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, AME Church Planter, Boston.

"Rabbi Riemer offers us the kind of wisdom that we need in order to survive and thrive," writes Dr. Bernie Siegel, best-selling author of a dozen books about spirituality and healing. The late Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel adds, "Jack Riemer's words are songs of hope and faith. Listen to them as I do."Widely sought after as a master storyteller and teacher, Riemer is one of the most frequently quoted rabbis in the U.S. That's because of the winding paths he takes in describing the relevance of timeless Jewish wisdom in our modern world.What do a professional baseball player, Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry box, a hurricane, a garbage dump and a blue blazer hanging in your closet have to do with each other? They're all turning points in Riemer's stories that lead us toward universal questions we all confront at some point in life, including:Is there a dream that gives meaning to your life? What are our duties to the people we love? How do you make a decision when you're caught between two conflicting values? And, what would you do if you found out that your time on this earth was almost up?Reflecting on Riemer's wisdom about life, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor writes that the rabbi "is obviously a person with much understanding of the human situation."Word of warning: The stories in this book may surprise you and perhaps make you chuckle, but they could change your life, as well.

"To My Professor: Student Voices for Great College Teaching" begins with remarks by students about their professors. They tend not to be the kind of remarks that professors usually hear, and some are harsh. Others are full of gratitude for teachers who inspire and motivate. The "To My Professor" statements are really just starting points that lead to advice from master teachers. Teaching college is difficult and this book has some potential solutions. More than 50 chapters cover situations including expectations, communication, technology, race, gender and religion, mental and physical health.